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Monument record MDR7860 - Rykneld Street Roman Road (scheduled section), Littleover, Derby

Type and Period (1)

  • (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

Two sections of Rykneld Street Roman road west of Littleover, 4km south-west of Derventio (Little Chester). The section to the north-east is 75m long while the section to the south-west is 95 m long. Further remains are believed to survive to the norht-east and the south-west, where modern development overlies the original line of the Roman road. Remains are also believed to survive under the section between the two scheduled sections that lies beneath the car park of the Forte Posthouse hotel. Visible remains are of the agger - in both sections 5m wide and 0.75m high. On either side are the remains (buried) of further components of the Roman road including drainage features and construction pits flanked by shallow boundary ditches. (1) Evaluation trenches excavated in 2003 identified the remains of the Roman road in the south-west section but failed to find any evidence for it in the north-east section (see SMR 32404). Part of the road metalling was uncovered and found to consist of rounded stones compacted into a silty brown clay matrix. There was some evidence for roadside drainage gullies, although no dating evidence was recovered from these. Roman pottery from a secure context was recovered from a ditch approximately 15m from the edge of the road surface and which may represent a smaller ditch constructed along the edge of the road further out than the drainage ditches. The line of the road appeared to respect the alignment of a number of cremations, at least one of which may be securely dated to the Bronze Age (see SMR 32405). (2) Following the excavations, the scheduling was revised to take the findings into account. (3)

Sources/Archives (3)

  • <1> Scheduling record: EH. 1963. Two sections of Rykneld street Roman Road West of Littleover. 23287. Cat No.: 236.
  • <2> Unpublished document: Cherrington, R (BUFAU). 2003. Land Adjoining the Former Post House Hotel, Littleover, Derby. An Archaeological Evaluation.. Trenches 2, 3, 5, pp 4-8, figs..
  • <3> Scheduling record: English Heritage. 2004. Section of Rykneld Street Roman road and remains of Bronze Age cemetery at Littleover. 23287. Cat. No. 236.

Map

Location

Grid reference Centred SK 32475 34151 (62m by 96m)
Civil Parish DERBY, DERBY, DERBYSHIRE

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (2)

  • EDR3508
  • EDR2419

Please contact the HER for details.

External Links (0)

Record last edited

Aug 19 2024 2:00PM

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